Rainbow Rare Earths Phalaborwa project shaping up to be one of the lowest cost producers globally. Watch the video here.

Less Ads, More Data, More Tools Register for FREE

STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-L&G rises as profit, div beat expectations

Wed, 06th Mar 2013 09:42

Shares in Legal & General (L&G) rise 1.3 percent, among the top gainerson the FTSE 100, after the insurer posts operating profit marginallyabove consensus and unveils a bigger-than-expected dividend.

L&G, Britain's fourth-biggest insurer by market value, made a 2012 operatingprofit of 1.09 billion pounds ($1.6 billion), up 3.2 percent on the previousyear and above the average analyst forecast of 1.08 billion pounds in a companypoll.

"Legal and General has delivered exactly what traders wanted ... an increasein full-year profits and more importantly in their full year dividend, which isup 20 percent from last year," John Truong, senior trader at Accendo Markets,says.

L&G has rallied strongly since the start of 2012, up 57 percent in the last14 months, and with dividend yield expectations for the insurance sector amongthe highest in Europe -- top analysts expect European insurers to yield 5.2percent in the coming year, compared with an average 4 percent across allEuropean large and mid-cap stocks, according to Thomson Reuters Starmine data --it is important for the company to sate investors' hunger for yield.

"This definitely puts the boot into L&G's peer, Royal Sun Alliance,who had instead decreased theirs ... The next question though is what will Aviva do tomorrow? A cut in their dividend will definitely not be appreciated,"he says.

Top analysts expect Aviva to grow its dividend by 24.3 percent in the coming12 months, according to Starmine data.

Reuters messaging rm://david.brett.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net

Related Shares

More News
18 Jun 2024 09:28

LONDON BROKER RATINGS: Redburn lifts Paragon Banking to 'buy'

(Alliance News) - The following London-listed shares received analyst recommendations Tuesday morning and on Monday:

14 Jun 2024 09:27

LONDON BROKER RATINGS: BoA ups L&G; Deutsche Bank cuts Iomart

(Alliance News) - The following London-listed shares received analyst recommendations Friday morning and on Thursday:

14 Jun 2024 07:46

LONDON BRIEFING: Bellway's planned takeover of Crest gets rejected

(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are called to open higher on Friday, after news that the Bank of Japan is leaving interest rates unchanged.

13 Jun 2024 09:37

LONDON BROKER RATINGS: Jefferies raises Great Portland to 'hold'

(Alliance News) - The following London-listed shares received analyst recommendations Thursday morning and on Wednesday:

13 Jun 2024 09:18

IN BRIEF: Legal & General starts GBP200 million share buyback

Legal & General Group PLC - London-based insurer - Launches on Thursday the GBP200 million share buyback programme it had announced on Wednesday. Cont...

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.

Quickpicks are a member only feature

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.